The last we heard from Iceage frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt was through his Marching Church side project, which released a new album, Telling It Like It Is, last year. He’s returned just in time for the holidays with a haunting new Christmas track called “Christmas On Earth” that sounds joyous but is actually super dark: “‘Christmas On Earth’ is a carol about parental kidnapping,” Bender Rønnenfelt says in a statement. “Offering no background story to clarify the motives, we journey through the racing mind of a father in the midst of the disquieting act of having abducted his own children.” The new track comes alongside a stripped-down rendition of “Silent Night.” Check out both of them below.

“Christmas On Earth” is a carol about parental kidnapping. Offering no background story to clarify the motives, we journey through the racing mind of a father in the midst of the disquieting act of having abducted his own children.

Draped in the melancholic backdrop of December, “Christmas On Earth” is an ode and a contribution to the great tradition of Christmas song. Bereft of sarcasm, we shine an adult and intricate light on the sad beauty which stands as the natural backside to the sometimes one-dimensional notions of joy integrated into the season.

Embracing the trivial and banal customs that go with its territory, this is a eulogy to the benevolence of Christmastime. Now deck the halls with boughs of holly!